'Shit! What's a monster doing here!'
After the descent of mana, the world had been altered. The ordinary animals that once roamed the world had suddenly gone extinct with the emergence of the towers weeks after.
Now, standing before him was a beast, not one of those legendary animals that had disappeared —but something far more daunting. if it had simply been an animal, it might have been easier to comprehend, but this was a beast—akin to those he had fought in the towers.
'What the helll happened while I was in that damn tower!'
Yet, he didn't feel an ounce of fear. He carefully observed the beast features as it charged forward.
Six metallic legs shaped into sharp, pointed tips. Above them, were a bunch of twisty tentacles spiraling upwards towards the creature's head. Looking closely, he discovered the head was held by the tentacles. On either side of the tentacles were massive metallic arms, each one curved into a deadly blade.
The head, comprised of two large eyes taking most of the space and a wide mouth filled with rows and rows of deadly teeth.
The beast now close, lunged forward, snapping his mouth at him.
SPLATTT!
A wave of black blood splashed on the wall and then a thud. On the floor and forming a puddle beneath was the beast. Its head had been split into two just stopping at the strange tentacles.
"Ahhh. That was easy." He thought about continuing forward. "What's that?" Looking at the beast, just at the top of one of its torn skulls was a glowing stone.
"Huh?" He crouched down prodding the stone with his dagger before pulling it out.
It wasn't a stone but a small yellow gem. Staring at it with a puzzled look, he was about to store it in his inventory when the voice echoed softly.
[Do you want to absorb the mana stone?]
[Yes/No]
"Mana stone? Absorb?" He muttered a bit, confused.
SHRIEEK!
He didn't have much time to think as another beast had emerged from the bend and was charging right at him. Storing the gem in his inventory, he stared at the charging beast.
"Your brother did the same, and look how it ended," he muttered with a sigh. Before the beast could even come close, Blake dagger streaked forward, the chain rattling softly as it struck the beast, piercing through the head.
Searching the beast, he discovered yet again another yellow gem. Without wasting time, he stored it and continued forward. Finally, going through the sharp bend, he was faced with another hall. This time around, it was large and spacious with doors at one side.
Quickly going through the rooms, he also slayed a few of the beasts littering about bringing the yellow gems in his possession to twelve.
Heading towards the stairs, he stopped in his tracks. "A blockage?" He thought, staring at the bits of furniture placed at the mouth of the steps. Judging by how a few of the furniture had been destroyed, he could tell they were unable to stop the beasts rampage.
Going through the steps, he arrived before a lagre door, which had been torn down and covered with punctured holes.
The manager's office. The office was a large one with a few shelves at the corner of the room. At the centre, the large table had been used as a sort of barricade, but most of its parts had been ripped apart.
These beasts are quite vicious. Staring at the centre, there, he could see the large dried up blood along with body parts, which were getting eaten up by the same set of beasts. The beasts gathered together were around ten.
"This will serve as a nice warm-up." Instantly, he appeared before the beasts. His sudden appearance was so sudden that the beasts didn't have time to react.
"Explode!" Placing both palms on two beasts face, they exploded, their organs and viscera flying over the area. One had swung its bladed hands right at Blake's head.
"Collapse." Muttering softly, the beast was immediately brought down by a strange force. Its body was scrunched up as if a heavy weight had crashed into it.
Staring at the rest, he let out a frown and then swung his hands while muttering loudly. "Blast Away!"
The beasts flew into different directions, and their body caved in as if struck by a strong force. Swinging his chained daggers around, he was able to take care of them, bringing the battle to an end.
He couldn't help but think back to the time he would struggle in facing the rat like beasts back in the tower. A smile curled up his lips as he stared at the dead beasts. "I've grown strong!" He thought, clenching his fist.
He also noticed the effects of his damage Inducement skill was stronger than before. Normally, he needed to be in contact with the target for it to work, now he was able to cause damage without being in contact with the targets.
Walking forward, his bare feet barely making sound, he headed towards one of the shelves with a mirror at the front.
"Uhhh, I look like a monster," he muttered. Walking towards one of the doors, he discovered it led to a bathroom. A classy one at that. "Good." Taking off his clothes, he entered the tub and turned on the shower.
A few minutes later, he was done and was dressed in one of the clothes he saw in the wardrobe at the far end of the room. They were a bit tight, but he couldn't complain. He walked back to the mirror and let out a soft sigh as he stared at his reflection, noticing the significant changes.
His hair had grown longer and his body had developed a lean, muscular build. Also, his body appeared... pale. Staring at his facials he couldn't help but let out a sigh.
Although the dark circles under his eyes had faded, they still lingered. However, his golden eyes sparkled softly and staring deeply, he noticed a mysterious black star shape which seemed to gleam within their depths.
"Black star? What does that mean." He remembered the so-called divine beings shivering up and muttering something about a black star.
"This is quite problematic." Fortunately, his eyes were quite covered by his messy hair, making it difficult for prying eyes to see through.
A board creaked loudly disrupting the silence in the room. Instantly swinging his daggers, it stopped a few inches away from a figure's face.
"Damn." Quickly retracting the dagger, he stored them back before walking forward. "I'm sorry about that... I'm not gonna hurt you." he said, raising his hand, seeing the figure shifting backwards with a fearful expression.
"What's a little girl doing all alone in this... rundown building." He said, squatting before the girl who was a bit nervous.
Her haggard appearance and sunken eyes were enough to tell Blake the girl was barely alive. As if on cue, her stomach rumbled loudly along with her body swaying to the sides.
"There... there," He muttered softly, catching her into his hands. He noticed her skin was bony and rough.
'Who the hell would leave a kid in this hell of a place? Or was her family part of the dead bodies littered around.' Shaking his head, he stared at the little girl.
Her skinny body made it impossible for Blake to pinpoint her age. "Let's get you washed up first... then find good food to eat."